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Friday, June 24, 2011

Ways To Save Money on Poultry

     

      Have you noticed that you don't see coupons for meat too often and when you do it's not usually a very good deal anyway?  Most seem to be for luncheon type products or processed type meats.  Now, when I say meat, I'm including poultry, pork, lamb, and anything else in the "meat" department.  
     I used to keep my spending on meat at about a dollar a pound.  That usually worked out quite well if I could get my poultry well below that.  Then with the savings on that I could spend a bit more on something else.  It's not always easy to follow this rule as it requires checking the managers specials, unadvertised specials and really doing a run by the meat when you step into the grocery store.  You just never know when a good deal will come up.   

     Chicken seems to go on sale quite frequently and it's very versatile.  Once you've found chicken for a buck a pound or less buy the limit if there is one, or whatever will fit into your freezer.  
  Once home, I line them up by the sink and gather my supplies.  Needed will be plastic freezer bags, (unless you have better freezer containers), a marker to label the bags, scissors, a sharp knife, a clean sink and a bowl to put the chicken in.  That is unless you have a helper who will put the parts into the plastic bag for you.   
   
     After fighting to get the chicken out of it's packaging, I then pull all the gizzards out of the birds cavity.  If this bothers you, think of pleasant thoughts, but not of food.  The gizzards can be saved for broth or some people like to fry them and eat them or give them to the cats. 

    First, I must remind you all that this is poultry and to make sure that when you are done to sanitize your area with hot soapy water, and all utensils.  I always start on the side of the sink with no dishes with a clean sink.  I usually do my cutting right there at the sink, but on the links I see they use a cutting board.  Only use a cutting board that you can sanitize or put into your dishwasher. 

   There are many websites that do a good job.  I've picked a couple that I like but I'm sure after you do this a few times you will have your own way to do it.  I like to use both scissors and knives, and sometimes I like to remove the bones too.  I use gallon size freezer bags for the wings so I can add to it and for the leftover pieces or scraps which I will make broth/soup from.  I then use the quart size for the legs, thighs, and breast.  It will depend on the size of your family on how many you will put into each bag. 

By doing the work yourself you can save a lot of money, and make your chicken go further.  Why cook an entire chicken if all you need is two thighs? 
  





This video is from the Americas Test Kitchen  How To Cut Up a Whole Chicken  you will see there are many videos on you tube, check them out.

This next website is a picture tutorial that might be easier to follow.Cutting Up Chicken

   Check out these tutorials and get a start on saving your hard earned money.